Most of the boats found do not include crew, but a total of 12 corpses have been found in five of the cases, according to the Yomiuri.

Weather patterns appear to be driving the boats toward Japan, and more boats are discovered in the autumn and winter months than in the spring and summer. About 80 percent of all boat discoveries took place near the northernmost island of Hokkaido in 2018.

The most recent ghost ship appeared on Nov. 1, near the northern end of Hokkaido. The wooden fishing boat measured about 15 meters in length, Japan's coast guard said.